PLSO May June 2019

8 The Oregon Surveyor | Vol. 42, No. 3 Featured Article 2018–19 Oregon Tech GME Department Update Written April 11, 2019 W ith respect to the Oregon Tech Geomatics Department, we have had some exciting things happen over the last year. In January, we received some exciting up- grades in technology. Through the very generous TOPCON Educational program and Portland Precision Instruments, we were able to obtain four new TOPCON Hiper SR GNSS units with FC5000 data collectors. These units have proven to be fantastic for both RTK and RTN work and help keep OT using industry stan- dard equipment! In addition to new GNSS equipment, we received a generous donation of a FARO Focus 3D Scanner from Ming Survey- ors Inc. in Portland and FARO. The new scanning unit will offer our students the ability to collect and utilize scan data in more classroom projects. Our old scan unit was at the end of its life cycle and required a significant amount of sup- port equipment for operation. We are all looking forward to working with a unit that can be transported in a brief case as opposed to one that required a steamer trunk. Finally, we have been able to acquire new computer workstations for our student work room. We received generous dona- tions fromNeathamer Surveying, Duryea and Associates, and Hennon Surveying and Mapping. The new workstations will allow students working on special proj- ects and senior practicums to have access to modern computers running CAD, GIS and adjustment software. Our NSPS Student Competition team has been busy preparing for the 2019 compe- tition inWashingtonD.C. This year’s theme involves the use of remotely sensed data for the solution of a surveying problem. In the past, our students have worked with the OT Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter to provide surveying sup- port to their drinking water improvement projects in Tanzania, Africa. The EWB chapter’s current project is to construct 2.5 kilometers (km) of waterline from a freshwater source to a sand filtration sys- tem installed at a remote village. Because of the severe time constraints placed on the team when they are in the field, the surveying of 2.5 km (1.6 miles, +/-) of wa- terline corridor is an extremely difficult proposition. Our GME students on the NSPS team used this problem as a catalyst for their NSPS project. Utilizing satellite collected topographic data from the ASTER pro- gram (digital elevation data collected through NASA’s Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radi- ometer), they devised a procedure to generate a surface model that could be used for preliminary engineering design by the EWB team. In addition to develop- ing a procedure to develop TIN models from the ASTER data, the NSPS team also tested the accuracy of the model against surfaces created utilizing GNSS RTK data and data collected via drones. In January, fourteen geomatics students attended the PLSO annual conference in Eugene. The students appreciated the opportunity to mingle with members and really appreciated the internship and employment opportunities that they received. Students assisted at the confer- ence by working at the registration table, helping with the scholarship auction, and working as runners for the Conference Committee. In addition to helping with the confer- ence, our students had the opportunity to attend seminars and, most important- ly, network with PLSO members. They greatly appreciated the opportunity to speak with potential employers and learn more about opportunities in their chosen profession. The students always come back from the annual conference with a tremendous amount of energy and, as instructors, we really appreciate that! In addition to the PLSO conference, club members also spoke at the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) surveyor’s conference in Salem and will be attending the LSAWSurveying Seminar in Spokane, Washington. Our students have also been keeping busy on cam- pus with a variety of recruiting events and high school visits.  x ...our students had the opportunity to attend seminars and, most importantly, network with PLSO members. They greatly appreciated the opportunity to speak with potential employers and learn more about opportunities in their chosen profession. The students always come back from the annual conference with a tremendous amount of energy and as instructors, we really appreciate that! By Jack Walker, Department Chair, OIT